Charles F. Mansfield was born in Mendon, Monroe County, New York on 9 July 1828 to Calvin and Cornelia Mansfield. In 1849, he moved to Sharon, Wisconsin and taught school. Following his stay in Wisconsin, he moved to California then to Oregon and back to New York. He remained in New York until 1854 when he moved to Mankato, Minnesota. Mansfield located a land claim in McPherson Township, Blue Earth County. However, the land claim was voided when the Winnebago Indian Reservation was located upon Mansfield’s claim. Subsequently, he and other settlers filed suit against the government for damages. The claims were upheld and the settlers were compensated when the American Indians were removed.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Mansfield, on 23 May 1861, went to Fort Snelling and enlisted with the First Minnesota Regiment, Company H as a private. Mansfield fought in the battles of Antietam, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg and was wounded at the first battle of Bull Run.

Following the war, Mansfield worked with James B. Hubbell and Alpheus F. Hawley as Indian traders on the upper Missouri River. In 1866, he came back to Mankato. After his arrival, he assumed the role of city assessor and for twelve years worked as the deputy collector of internal revenue for the Upper Minnesota Valley District. Besides his professional roles, Mansfield dabbled in real estate investment in the Mankato area. In 1872, Mansfield became one of the incorporators of the Citizens National Bank of Mankato and served on the institution’s board of directors.

Mansfield married Louisa Burchard of Eagle Lake, Minnesota on 27 May 1876. The couple had five children: Charles, John A., Mary Louise, Cornelia J., and Barbara. Charles F. Mansfield died on 30 March 1885 and Louisa died in the 1930s.

The biographical information was obtained from the collection and: Mankato: Its First Fifty Years. Mankato, Minnesota: Free Press Printing Co., 1903. Mankato Review, 31 March 1884.